The field of invention is motor vehicles and the invention is especially useful on three wheeled vehicles of the type commonly referred to as all terrain vehicles or all terrain cycles. Such vehicles typically have wide wheels and are designed to ride across unpaved terrain. Because of the wide front wheel, bumps in the terrain can often lead to a violent side to side turning of the front wheel which is transmitted through the handlebars to the rider. Such movement causes rider fatigue and discomfort. Four wheel vehicles have also bee developed for off-road use and the present stabilizer is also useful for these vehicles. Furthermore, it is believed that motorcycles used in rough terrain would benefit from the use of the present invention.
The applicant developed a steering stabilizer which is the subject of a pending U.S. patent application entitled "All Terrain Cycle With Steering Stabilizer," filed Sept. 23, 1983, and assigned Ser. No. 535,349. This stabilizer utilized a piston and chamber assembly which was connected to the frame of a three wheeled vehicle at one end and to the triple clamp at the other end. The triple clamp forms a portion of the front wheel assembly and the piston was located away from the center of the triple clamp so that as the front wheel assembly turned, the piston was moved within its chamber causing viscous damping. Although such device is highly effective, it is necessary that space be available between the triple clamp and the frame for installation of the piston. Further refinements of the such vehicles has made this impossible for some models because of the addition of oil coolers, larger fuel tanks and the like.